Most Needed Food Items

The following list of most-needed foods provides some tips for selecting healthy foods to donate. These items are among some of the essentials needed for a well balanced diet and are often the most difficult for food-insecure families to afford. Click here to download/print as a full-page flyer. Click here to dowload as a quarter sheet flyer template.

More about Food Drives

Food Drives are part of our Local Food Resources Program. Food donations from the community help us feed an increasing number of people in need throughout Humboldt County. Last fiscal year our community donated close to 150,000 lbs of food through community food drives. An astounding number of organizations, schools and businesses participated

in community-led food drives, in addition to thousands of generous community members. We accept walk-in donations all year long at our warehouse during business hours, and we are happy to provide a receipt for your tax deductible donation.

Donated foods help keep our on-site Choice Pantry stocked with foods that meet families’ nutritional needs, and also help supplement our Senior Brown Bag and Homebound Delivery Program bags with nutritious foods for seniors and other adults coping with disability or illness. As we seek to create a healthy and hunger-free community, it is important that we provide our neighbors in need with the most nutritious food possible, such as whole grains, and non-hydrogenated, low-sodium and low-sugar foods.

Food for People is committed to meeting the nutritional needs of people accessing food bank services by establishing nutrition and safety standards for donated food. Donors play a big role in increasing access to these nutritious foods. With this in mind there are a few items that we can not accept as donations:

Soda & other sweetened drinks

Candy, gum, marshmallows, chips

Home canned foods

Rusty or bulging cans

Foods which have been opened

Loose foods obtained from “bulk” bins at the store

Oils, spices and other condiments or baking items are accepted as long as they are unopened.

Please try to avoid donating expired goods. The dates on some foods are more like "best by" dates and hold up well over time, however if it's something you would be hesitant to eat, the same might be true for other folks.

To learn more about food drives and food donations, or to plan a food drive of your own, contact Food for People’s Local Food Resources Coordinator at FoodDrives@foodforpeople.org or call (707) 445-3166 ext. 312.